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Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps

1Say the verse. Read the transliteration aloud, slowly.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each word and its meaning.
3Read the translation. Ask: what is happening here, and who is it about?
4Read the purport slowly. Read it twice. Don't rush.
5See Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa. Remember who is acting in the pastime.
6Take one thing into your day. Note one point and one practice.

Read the full guide: how to read Caitanya Caritamrta ›

Madhya-līlā · Chapter 8: Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya

Madhya 8.76 Madhya 8.78

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 8.77

নন্দঃ কিমকরোদ্‌ব্রহ্মন্ শ্রেয় এবং মহোদয়ম্ ।

যশোদা বা মহাভাগা পপৌ যস্যাঃ স্তনং হরিঃ ॥ ৭৭ ॥

nandaḥ kim akarod brahman

śreya evaṁ mahodayam

yaśodā vā mahā-bhāgā

papau yasyāḥ stanaṁ hariḥ

Translation

Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “ ‘O brāhmaṇa, what pious activities did Nanda Mahārāja perform by which he received the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa as his son? And what pious activities did mother Yaśodā perform that made the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa call her “Mother” and suck her breasts?’

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Accepts the Love of His Parents

1
Rāmānanda Rāya asks what pious activities Nanda Mahārāja performed to receive Kṛṣṇa as his son.
2
He also asks what pious activities mother Yaśodā performed that Kṛṣṇa called her “Mother” and sucked her breasts.
3
The child receiving this parental care is the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa.

How it feels

Deepening intimacy and revelation. Their exchange ascends from duty to pure love and the confidential moods of Vraja.

The mood of Madhya 8 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Madhya 8: Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya

From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Then Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya explained unalloyed devotional service, love of Godhead, and serving the Lord in the moods of pure servitude, fraternity and parental love. Finally he spoke of serving the Lord in conjugal love.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Madhya 8

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

nandaḥNanda Mahārāja
kimwhat
akarothas performed
brahmanO brāhmaṇa
śreyaḥauspicious activities
evamthus
mahā-udayamrising to such an exalted position as the father of Kṛṣṇa
yaśodāmother Yaśodā

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

Vraja-smaraṇa · Remembrance of Vṛndāvana
The remembered sweetness of Vraja that colors Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage, Ratha-yātrā, and later states of separation. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “nanda”, “yaśodā”
Bhāva & rasa · The language of sacred feeling
Transcendental devotional moods and relationships, discussed explicitly in Rāmānanda’s dialogue and the teachings on prema. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “parental”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What moves you about the Supreme Personality of Godhead calling Yaśodā “Mother”?

Practice

Reread the verse slowly, pausing to appreciate Kṛṣṇa receiving His parents’ care.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Accepts the Love of His ParentsThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

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